Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-05-06
POPULATION AND FOOD.
Rerutation of tho Arguments OF
aModern Nautilus.

Modern Nautilus.
| The current number Of The Forum
contains q sprightly article by Tbomal
| w. Knox, enti led 'Standing Room
Only" 1t shows that several countries
in the world contain so many people tha
they can scarcely walk about without
jostling each other For example, the
statement is made that Java
has 39S Inhabitants to the
square mile, Japan 234, Italy
246, Belgium 4Sl, aud the Netherlands
3l2. The author then states that ther
is hardly country whose population is
diminishing, while that of most eoun.
tries is increasing with wonderful if not
with alarming rapidity. This increase
of population is largely due to the alb
sence of wars and better sanitary condi.
tions.
Mr.. Knox thinks that it is time to
study the philosophy of Nautilus, who
held that population, unchecked, in.
creased in geometrieal ratio. while food
can only be made TO increase in arith--
metical ratio. He also argues that
checks on population are absolutely nec-
sssary, and claims advantages for war,
pestilence, famine and most of the de.
structive vices. He states that few of
the countries in which there is "standipg
room only" can produce food
enough for the inh bitants, and shows
by official census tables that tho mum.
Der of these countries is increasing very
rapidly. He predicts that our own will
be added to the list of overpopnlated
countries in no very distant future. AT
present, few of the original thirteen
States produce food enough to supply
all the inhabitants. The line that di-
yides the States that do not produce
food enough for the people from those
that do is constantly moving farther
west.
NO CAUSE FOR ALAIM.
This modern Malthus has no cause
for alarm. In almost every country in
the world there is food enough and to
spare. In nearly every land food pro.
ducers are discouraged by overproduo
tion. AT one time farmers found no
fault with prices, but complained be.
cause they could raise but little. Now
they complain of low prices
and find fault because so much
is produced. English papers state
that there was never time in the his.
tory of the country when days wages
would purchase so much food. During
last year sugar sold for penny a pound,
and many farmers used IL as condiment
or food for cattle and pigs. Fresh her.
rings sold in London markets for half
penny each, and the poorest laborers ate
white dread, orarge and bananas. Dur.
ing several months small fruits were so
cheap that they commanded only a
nominal price, and soma farmers and
gardeners usea them to fertiIize their
land. One vessel from one Of the Falk.
land islands, brought AZ. 900 carcasses OF
frozen mutton, where it was bought for
a penny pound. Two steamship com
panies paid q penny a bushel
for the privilege Of Carry
ing wheat ia bags from
American to English ports, so that the
grain of civilization was cheaper in
Liverpool than in Baltimore. The price
of farm products is SO low in Great
Britain that the owners of several large
estates declare that they can realize
more from them as game preserves than
as cultivated farms.
The truth ia, the doctrine OF Malthus
is an exploded humbug. 1t was q
plausible theory at the time he wrote,
but the introduction of machinery on
farms, the use of steam in agriculture,
the improvement in breeds OF animals,
the utilization of products for.
merly wasted, the new methods
of preserving fruits, vegetables,
meat and fish, aud last, but most
the increased speed of vessels and the
low rates for carrying all kinds OF arti-,
cles intended for food, have produced
rcvolu tion and destroyed the philosophy
of the pessimist of the dinner table. We
hear Of coal famines and water famines,
but there are no food famines anywhere,
and there are no prospects OF any.
rood PRODUCING CAPABILITIES.
We have hardly begun to test the
food producing capabilities of the earth.
A German traveller declares that Siberia
is capable Of producing grain enough to
supply all western Europe with bread.
An English authority states that wheat
was worth but ten cents bushel in the
interior OF Asiatic Turkey last year, and
that many farmers did not find it profit.
able to harvest their fields. The island
of Hayti is capable OF producing enough
yams and bananas to feed 10000, 900
people. Hardly any portion Of Africa
except the narrow valley Of the Nile has
bean brought under cultivation. But
an Insignificant part of Australia has
been devoted to the production of food
South America, in the opinion of Hum
boldt, is the grand division of the earth
capable Of producing the most food; still q
large portion of it remains unexplored and
no good farming is done in the parts
that have been longest settled, 1t could
be made not only the gralary but the
stockyard for supplying Europe with
food. Wild cattle are almost as plepti.
full there as rabbits are in Australia, aud
thousands of them are killed every year
for their hides and tallow. Sheep are
raised with scarcely any care, and pigs
turned into the forests become fat on
nuts and wild fruit. No believer in Mall
thusian philosophy ever visited South
America.
BY selecting breeds of animals that
mature early, and constantly supplying
them with suitable tood, steers are made
to weigh as much when they are thirty
months old as they formerly did at twice
that age. By the general Introduction
of the silo the beef and mutton pro.
duction OF this country could be doubled,
ayen il no more land was devoted to
raising fodder crops. Our countryman,
Seth Green, originated the expression
"water farming" and demonstrated
that an acre of water was capable OF
producing as much food as an acre OF
land. Experiments show that German
carp can be raised at about half the
price of the cheapest meat, and the
prospect is that most OF our small lakes
and artificial ponds will soon
be utilized for the production at
food the same az they are in China and
Japan. Food producers everywhere are
crying for more mouths to feed, SO that
they can get better price for what they
raise. But the prospect is that the cost
of every kind of food will continue te